The present invention relates to a device for connecting two stretches of raceway for electrical cable systems, each of said raceway stretches comprising: [i] a base section formed by a bottom wall defining an internal surface; external walls transversally limiting said base section and internal walls, parallel to said external walls, providing for the existence of at least two sub-raceways, said walls being provided at the top end thereof with folds forming longitudinal slots; and [ii] a cover section adapted to engage said longitudinal slots; said internal surfaces of each of said bottom walls forming between them a dihedral; said device being suitable for occupying an active position in which it establishes a connection between said two raceway sections.
In the case of angularly connecting non-compartmented raceways (i.e., without sub-raceways), whether coplanar or not, the regular practice of the installation engineers is simultaneously to mitre the ends of the base and cover sections of each stretch and fit them together directly, without using any item to cover and hide the slits and defects inherent in forming the cut by hand with haphazard means. Nevertheless, angled cover members, which are snap fitted on the coupling arrangements described, have been used in certain cases, overlapping the ends of the base and cover sections of both raceway stretches to be connected.
In other cases, the use is also known for this purpose of accessories forming elbows, which are formed by a channel-like base member, shaped as a concave or convex dihedral and provided with a mating cover member, said accessories allowing the coupling together of the base and cover sections of both raceways without losing, at the elbow, the protection conferred by the raceways to the electrical cable systems.
Similar solutions are used for the longitudinal connection of said raceways, in which the stretches thereof at the join form flat angles or dihedrals.
Solutions similar to the above disclosed have been applied to compartmented raceways, with the exception that the channel-like base member is provided with compartments mating with those of the base sections of the stretches of raceway, the angled cover member being unique and, as in the previous case, devoid of compartments.
The above cases have the serious drawback that when the cover member or equivalent item is removed, all the electrical cables of the different compartments or sub-raceways are uncovered and made accessible. Thus, the electrical cables that should not be disturbed while those that should be are being manipulated may not be isolated and protected.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the above-mentioned drawback. This object is achieved by a device of the type first mentioned above, which is characterized in that it comprises [a] for each sub-raceway, a dihedral closing member, in each of which there are two end portions which, in said active position, are respectively parallel to said internal surfaces of said bottom walls, fixedly attached channel-like members projecting longitudinally from the underside of said end portions and being provided with means for connection to said walls of said base sections; and [b] a covering member adapted to cover said closing members at least in part.
In this way it becomes possible to keep the sub-raceways or alignments of compartments in the connecting device or elbow closed independently and access may be had to any one of them, the others remaining closed, in order to be able to work on the electrical cable systems contained therein, while protecting at the same time the cable systems contained in the others, which should not be disturbed.